Oh You Nasty Soy

In a victory for biotech conglomerates everywhere, lawmakers in Brazil last week lifted a ban on the growing of genetically modified crops in the country, and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to quickly sign the changes into law. Brazil is now the second-largest producer of soy after the U.S., and for many of its farmers, the measure will simply ratify a long-standing practice — about a third of the country’s soybean crop is already genetically modified. Biotech companies are upping soybean-seed production in anticipation of the law’s enactment. Da Silva’s approval will come despite objections from environmentalists, some members of his party, and his environment minister, Marina Silva, who said, “The Environment Ministry feels obliged to point out to Brazilian society the potential environmental risks involved in the project that was approved.”

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